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Andy Wasserman

Biography by MacKenzie Wilson

Well-respected composer/bass player Rob Wasserman has been sharpening his select musicianship since the early '80s when he spent time training at the prestigious Conservatory of Music in San Francisco.…Read Full Biography

Artist Biography
by MacKenzie Wilson

Well-respected composer/bass player Rob Wasserman has been sharpening his select musicianship since the early '80s when he spent time training at the prestigious Conservatory of Music in San Francisco. His style of playing the bass in an upright fashion became his signature, making Wasserman a desirable sessions man throughout the '80s and '90s for artists like Rickie Lee Jones, Stephane Grappelli, and the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia. It's his ecletic methodology that has made him an admirable musician, and he finely introduced such skilled work on his 1983 debut Solo, an album produced thanks to a NEA Composer's Fellowship. Solo's solid bass soliloquy was so well received, Wasserman was voted both Bassist and Composer of the Year in Downbeat magazine, as well as Solo taking honors for Best Jazz Album of the Year. Duets followed in 1988 with Wasserman collaborating with Bobby McFerrin, Lou Reed, and Aaron Neville. The critical acclaim continued, and Duets won a Grammy as well as taking an award for Best Vocal Album of the Year by Billboard. Swooning success, however, did not overshadow Wasserman's musical perfectionism. He took a long break and waited six years to release a follow-up. Trios (1994) featured more all-star joint efforts with Elvis Costello, Edie Brickell, Neil Young, and marked the last recording for blues master Willie Dixon. Trios was praised in Rolling Stone, but the hush surrounding Wasserman's work was now steady. In turn, this gave him the opportunity to reflect upon his six year stint of playing in Lou Reed's band in order to expand his music with Bob Weir. The duo had performed together since the late '80s, frequently touring with the blues-rock outfit Ratdog, and it was only fitting that Wasserman celebrate that by gathering some of their finest live recordings to release the album Weir/Wasserman Live in 1998. Two years later, he returned to the solo side and issued Space Island, an album featuring stunning work with former Jane's Addiction/Porno for Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins and producer Dave Aron (Prince, Snoop Doggy Dogg). That summer, Wasserman also set out on his first-ever headlining tour.